N.Z. grants broader scope to spy agency

WELLINGTON – New Zealand passed legislation Wednesday allowing its main intelligence agency to spy on residents and citizens, despite opposition from rights groups, international technology giants and the legal fraternity.

The bill to expand the power of the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) passed by 61 votes to 59 after impassioned debate, with Prime Minister John Key acknowledging the move had left some people “agitated and alarmed.”

“This is not, and never will be, about wholesale spying on New Zealanders,” Key told parliament.

“There are threats our government needs to protect New Zealanders from, those threats are real and ever-present and we underestimate them at our peril.”

The push to change the law came after it emerged last year that the GCSB illegally spied on Internet tycoon Kim Dotcom before armed police raided his Auckland mansion as part of a U.S.-led probe into online piracy.